1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a cowling assembly for a marine propulsion engine and, more specifically, to a cowling assembly formed from two or more fore-to-aft extending sections which are fixedly connected to form a unitary cowling member.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is widely known in the marine art to cover a propulsion engine with a cowling. Since such cowlings often need to be manually removed to gain access to the engines, it is desirable to minimize the weight of the cowling. To achieve this minimal weighing, it has been proposed to mold such cowlings from plastic or other lightweight materials. In order for the cowling to have sufficient strength and in order to avoid noise problems associated with vibrations developed during running of the marine engine, prior art cowlings have been made relatively thick which undesirably increases the weight of the cowling.
As exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,693, it has heretobefore been proposed to form an upper cowling member from two parts which are divided in the lengthwise direction so as to form right and left halves which are permanently joined together. Constructing the cowling from two halves takes advantage of known mold manufacturing processes resulting in reduced costs. Unfortunately, although such a cowling formed from left and right halves which are joined together increases the strength of the top of the cowling, the left and right sides remain low in strength.
Due to the inherent vibrations developed during operation of a marine engine, the left and right sides of the cowling, as well as the top, are subject to the greatest vibrational fatigue stress and strains. Therefore, although the prior art teaches providing a cowling formed from two parts which are secured together in the lengthwise direction so as to increase the strength of the top of the cowling, such prior art does not provide for increasing the strength of the left and right sides of the cowling and therefore there is a need in the art for a cowling assembly which can inhibit vibrations on not only the top of the cowling but also the left and right sides as well.